It sure seems that way, if you were to ask myself or any other blogger who has been around the block a few times.

Let me go back a year or so. In 2008, I could get just about anyone on an interview. In fact, I did. I interviewed over 50 fighters in that calendar year, including Chuck Liddell (twice), Dan Henderson (twice), Lyoto Machida (three times!), and even the elusive Matt Hughes (once). It wasn't always easy to set up and on occasion, I'd have to call back. But with a little persistence, I was typically in.

Whether it's the exploding popularity of the sport, the fighters themselves, or both, it's become a problem. I began to realize that I had an issue on my hands when all of sudden, I couldn't get my Machida interview. When he was prepping for Sokoudjou, it was a seamless one-week process. Three wins later and you'd think I was trying to get in touch with the Pope.

Even worse is Georges St. Pierre, who I used to contact directly on his cell until Shari Spencer (his manager) made him direct calls to her. How else would she stay in business? I would call Georges and he'd tell me "Sorry man, you gotta call Shari first." Now, she's taken it one step further, essentially eliminating all one on ones with the champ. Today, I got the following in my inbox: "Additionally, as background information I've attached his responses to typical interview questions regarding UFC 100/Thiago Alves, pulled from actual recent interviews. I've also attached a list of talking points of his activities outside the Octagon as I know there's often interest in covering the "whole Georges St-Pierre", not just the fighter."

So we went from calling Georges directly to calling Shari directly to receiving a list of regurgitated questions which, unbelievably, include "what is your original fighting background?"

Of course, I still have some mainstays such as Frankie Edgar or Greg Jackson, who seem to stay just enough out of the spotlight to avoid the undertow of possessive marketing. Unfortunately, some of the UFCs biggest stars are being held under, either by their management or the UFC itself. One of the best parts of the UFC is the individual fandom that many fighters have surrounding them. If the UFC and individual management teams continue to drive away personalized, truly individual interviews, the fan experience will lack and we'll be stuck like every other sport, with ESPN having the only coverage.